Eddie Monkman: Where is a united Libya?

This coming week marks the 74th anniversary of the declaration of the United Kingdom of Libya. As published in the Libya Gazette, on December 24th 1951 Libya became the first state to gain independence from a colonial power under the guidance of the United Nations. Now, some seven decades later the same state is still struggling to unify as the UN still attempts to guide the path forward. It was a moment of optimism when King Idris took the throne and led his country out from under the rule of the Italians and French. The Italians had colonised from 1911 until 1947 when they relinquished control through the Paris Treaty. For four years the French and Italians managed a transition period before independence was finally gained on 24th December 1951. 

Independence day was celebrated until 1969 when a military coup imposed Colonel Gaddafi’s 42 years of brutal dictatorship on the country. During his rule, celebrating the day was banned and instead replaced with celebrations on September 1st, the date of the coup. It wasn’t until 2011, 60 years after Libya gained independence, that the event could be celebrated again. After finally being emancipated from the tyrannical strangulation of the Gaddafi regime, a sense of optimism set over the country. Speaking in an episode of Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown from 2012, one man, when asked how he feels about the future of his country, tells the presenter: “We got rid of Gaddafi, nothing else is hard.” 

But that early optimism has faded and political chaos and economic turmoil have beset Libya. In 2014 General Khalifa Haftar, an officer in the 1969 coup before becoming a rebel in the 2011 revolution, took control of the House of Representatives and set up a de-facto eastern government with the backing of the Libyan National Army (LNA). In doing so Libya entered into a period often referred to as “the second civil war”. Haftar initially returned to Libyan politics as a voice against Islamic militant groups including Al-Qaeda affiliated militias who had taken control of Benghazi. In launching “operation dignity”, Haftar set the path to power and by March 2015 he was appointed leader of the LNA by the House of Representatives. By February 2016 the LNA had pushed the Al-Qaeda affiliates out of Benghazi and Haftar had solidified his control over the city and could now expand his control to around 2/3rds of the country. 

The split between the UN-backed and internationally recognised Tripoli government in the west and Haftar’s Benghazi government in the east was entrenched from this moment on. Despite his role as a general in the revolution, Haftar remains deeply unpopular with many across Libya – particularly in the west – for the fact that he was a member of Gaddafi’s forces during the coup in 1969. Libya’s modern history is so deeply embedded in the present day state of affairs. Understanding this history is fundamental to even beginning to try and analyse the complicated politics of today. 

After Haftar moved on Tripoli in 2019, one resident of the city told a Vice Documentary: “When I hear it (Haftar’s offensive), I sent my son. I sent him to stop them. For the kids.” Whilst Haftar’s offensive failed in 2019 it provoked more division between the two rival power bases and more anger at foreign interference in Libya. Anger from residents in Tripoli was directed toward the leaders of France, Egypt and the UAE for their supposed support of Haftar. The same man explains that his young daughter is wearing a high-vis jacket (a gilet jaune) because: “we want to show the French people that his (Macron’s) government helped Hitler, Haftar – I said Hitler – I think he is the same as Hitler.” 

The same thing that helped Haftar appeal to foreign powers is what makes him unpopular amongst many. He is a “strongman” and for some external actors it is felt that that is what is required in order to bring stability to the chaotic rule of the hundreds of militia groups spread across the country: one big militia to control all the little ones. 

Since the end of the second civil war in October 2020, tangential steps towards unity have been taken but in reality these are more symbolic than practical. Flights between Benghazi and Tripoli were resumed the following year and in August 2025 a United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), to be led by Hannah Tetteh, was announced promising to be: “Based on the Advisory Committee’s recommendations, feedback from the Libyan people, and lessons learned from the failure of previous efforts to hold elections, UNSMIL is convinced that the political process should focus on guaranteeing general elections and unifying institutions through a sequenced approach.” 

The roadmap has gained widespread support from the international community including from the European Union. Earlier this month, December 2025, the UNSMIL completed a phase of the roadmap termed “the structured dialogue”, the aim of which is: “To ensure broad and inclusive representation, UNSMIL invited nominations from municipalities, political parties, universities, national technical and security institutions, as well as cultural and other specialized entities and societal groups. The Mission selected the majority of the Structured Dialogue members from among the nominees and supplemented them with additional appointments to ensure inclusion, balanced representation and subject-matter expertise.”

READ: Ian Proud: The EU’s frozen funds fiasco

The eventual goal of the roadmap is to unify key institutions across Libya, meaning engaging in a constructive and effective dialogue in both Tripoli and Benghazi. A 12 to 18 month timeline has been set out in order to complete the process of holding free, democratic and crucially national elections. Any elected government must be contained to a limited mandate in order to prevent an authoritarian, overreaching administration from holding power. It is a hopeful plan and one that has the potential to bring positive change to Libya. But it is also one that would involve the good will of a group of competing actors who have yet to demonstrate as such toward each other. 

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Maghrebi.org. Eddie Monkman is a Maghrebi journalist and editor of The Libya Gazette.

If you wish to pitch an opinion piece please send your article to grace.sharp@maghrebi. org.